Guy Ngata joins Live Nation in trans-Tasman venues role

Venues veteran Guy Ngata joins Live Nation in a key new trans-Tasman position.

Ngata is named Senior Vice President Venue Development Australia and New Zealand, reporting to Roger Field, President of Live Nation Asia Pacific.

LN poaches the NZ-born executive from ASM Global (previously AEG Ogden), where he most recently served as CEO of the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

Prior to that, he served in high-level positions in Shanghai at the Mercedes-Benz Arena and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena (then Allphones Arena) along with both Spark Arena and Eden Park stadium in his hometown of Auckland.

During his career, Ngata and the arenas he managed have been recognised in the Billboard Touring Awards.

With Ngata serving as CEO of Eden Park — NZ’s biggest stadium — the venue in 2016 recorded its most profitable year outside of a World Cup year.

“Live Nation is a world-class venue operator with a proven track record of establishing industry-leading venues that artists and fans love, and I’m thrilled to be joining at a time of immense opportunity and growth,” comments Ngata in a statement, issued Thursday (Nov. 24).

At LN, Ngata will be responsible for building the live entertainment giant’s venue portfolio across Australia and New Zealand and he’ll lead the company’s tenders and bids for upcoming arena projects in Australia.

On his to-do list is the Brisbane Arena tender ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, which will see LN partner with Oak View Group (OVG), the global venue development, advisory, and investment company, and Plenary Group, Australia’s leading independent long-term investor, developer, and manager of public infrastructure.

Alongside Ngata’s appointment, Richard Tsuchida is named Venue Director Japan, reporting to Kei Ikuta, Managing Director of Live Nation Japan, and working closely with Greg Gillin, Senior Vice President Venue Development for Asia.

Tsuchida comes to the live entertainment industry with a CV stuffed with real estate business development positions for global brands including Gucci, H&M, and CBRE.

Roger Field

“A huge welcome to Guy and Richard to the Live Nation family,” comments Field.

“With several existing projects in the pipeline, their combined experience and knowledge will greatly enhance our existing venue team to propel and drive our venue development strategy to the next level, with the most compelling proposition for venue construction, operations, and management throughout the Asia Pacific.”

LN also promotes Mark Graham, currently Vice President of Venue Development, to the new role as Senior Vice President Venue Mobilisation and Operations APAC, with duties for the operational rollout and the advancement and sustainability of the group’s venues.

In related news, LN this week unveiled a partnership with Foxtel’s rewards program.

Through that new arrangement, Foxtel Rewards members can vie for VIP meet-and-greets, invitations to exclusive pre-show parties and reserved ticket allocations for LN’s live events.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.